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For Field And Suite: Sound Devices Pix 260
At the 2012 NAB show, Sound Devices unveiled their newest model in their Pix line of mobile recording devices, the Pix 260. The Sound Devices Pix 260 employs many of the mainstays of the flagship mobile recorder, the Pix 240, while pushing for higher-end options to compete with full resolution recorders like Convergent Design’s Gemini 4:4:4. The Pix 260 has the 5 inch screen with an 800 x 480 resolution for video preview and menu controls. The 260 will record in either Avid DNxHD or Apple ProRes files with 4:2:2 compression and up to 10 bit quality. It can generate time code so you can jam-sync camera through the mobile recording device itself, and has the hardware scaling and frame conversion. It will up, down, and cross convert to and from 480i, 576i, 720p, 1080i, 1080p with various frames rates; it will even do an automatic 3:2 pull down for frame rate conversion. The Pix 260 has all of the elements that made the Pix 240 one of the most popular mobile recording devices.
So what sets the Sound Devices Pix 260 apart from its predecessor, the Pix 240? Sound Devices wanted to make a device that could be used on location for productions, be easily mounted, and used in an editing facility. The Sound Devices Pix 260 is larger in size and weight than the Pix 240. Although the bulk limits your camera and mounting options, it gives you the option of easily mounting in your editing rack. In the editing rack, you can also use the Pix 240 as a video playback source if you use Avid or Final Cut 7 or 10. The Pix 240 has an RS-422 port for external controls or controls via Ethernet through a web-server, which would allow for several computers to have control of it through the network. There are also 4 Sata ports that can allow simultaneous transfer for any Raid-1 style drives through the Pix 260. This simultaneous transfer would allow you to efficiently transfer footage to a hard drive for editing, another for the producer, and one for a back-up easily and quickly. These options give the Pix 260 the versatility to function as a field mobile recorder, and also as a rack-mounted device that can be used for a plethora of editing options from outputting to several devices, to frame conversion, and even video preview.
The Sound Devices Pix 260 starts shipping in September 2012.
Did you stop by the Sound Devices booth at the NAB show this year and catch a glimpse of the Pix 260? Let us know what you thought about it. Will you buy one?
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